


But It Will Be Well

by Siver



Category: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22200025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siver/pseuds/Siver
Summary: Prompt: Alma comes home on her birthday and doesn’t understand why her husband seems so relieved, but she rolls with it as well as she can.
Relationships: Alma/Jowd (Ghost Trick)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	But It Will Be Well

**Author's Note:**

> Gift for playghosttrick for Ghost Swap over at Tumblr!

Alma’s pace slowed just short of home. While the day had been busy, it had also been satisfying and she’d almost left behind the vague sense of unease that plagued her the past few days. She could only attribute the feeling to Jowd’s behaviour; try as he did he couldn’t hide his own unease from her. Added to that, she’d yet to get a satisfying answer as to why he insisted on booking today off. It wasn’t as though she was home to enjoy her birthday anyway and they had the evening planned, but he remained resolute and she’d long since learned to recognize when he wouldn’t budge.

Her break had been a pleasant affair, but no more useful for gleaning any answers. Between Cabanela swinging by with flowers and a highly decadent slice of chocolate cheesecake, and Jowd calling for further pleasant, if slightly puzzling, conversation she’d been lulled into contentment and her call with Jowd had to be stopped before she could gain any clues as to why.

She sighed and shook her head. Jowd and Cabanela were the detectives and all power to them. She was content to let them go at it while she took in the stories, both real and fictional, to be an ear and offer input as she could. Yet, since that day when _something_ changed it seemed she had a case of her own and a difficult first case it was. When Jowd was this stubborn he had his reasons; she only hoped those reasons would be forthcoming sooner than later.

And what were the odds on that?

Snowflakes gently fell, a slow buildup to what looked to be a long and steady fall later, the first of the season. It was then she realized she’d come to a near standstill and she certainly wasn’t going to get anywhere like this and the house was right there within view. So, she hurried forward, pausing only for a moment to catch a flake to smile at it and entertain herself with the thought of taking Kamila out tomorrow if the weather didn’t turn terrible. 

The door opened before she could get a hold of the handle and Jowd stood framed by the warm light within. She blinked in surprise. He very quickly looked back over his shoulder, though what he looked for she couldn’t say, and she barely had time to register the shift in tension in his face to relief before she was pulled to his chest for a large hug.

“Is everything all right?” Jowd asked. “You’re a bit late.”

His arms were tense around her and she tipped her head back to look up at him. She couldn’t have been late by more than a few minutes. Why did it matter? Was he planning something, but neither of them were fond of big to-dos so that seemed highly unlikely. “I suppose I was a bit slowed down by the weather.”

Jowd looked past her then pulled her inside as if he’d only just noticed the snow drifting down. The chill was shut out leaving them standing in the hall and Jowd’s hands remained at her shoulders.

“Are _you_ all right?” Alma asked while surveying his face in hopes of gaining some inkling of an understanding of what was going on behind that beard.

His shoulders slumped. He cupped her cheek in one hand and met her eyes, studying her as she studied him. Then he smiled. “Everything’s fine. Happy Birthday.”

She smiled back, glad to see a genuine smile on him and he released her so she could remove her coat.

“I’ll get dinner going,” Jowd said as the pair moved the hall and split at the kitchen and living room.

Alma watched Jowd enter the kitchen, pausing to look down at Sissel who had taken up position as their resident loaf. This happened sometimes, these moments of seeming communion shared through stares alone as far as she could tell.

Then Sissel abruptly rose to his feet with a loud meow, and just as abruptly and rather deliberately, Alma thought, turned his back on Jowd with a flick of his tail and trotted toward the sofa. He almost gave off the impression of exasperation, but that was silly, wasn’t it?

Jowd shook his head and she knew that look of amused self-deprecation that crossed his face. Something happened between cat and man, but just as Jowd held onto some mystery so too did their newest family member.

Jowd caught her staring and his grin was that of a private joke. “Guess he had enough of me. Can’t say I blame him.”

“No accounting for taste, I suppose,” Alma shot back.

“That’s what I keep saying,” Jowd laughed and turned toward the kitchen to settle into the cooking.

Alma went to the couch with a suppressed sigh. She’d missed something there. Sissel jumped to the back of the sofa and curled up, close enough to be company, but far enough to be out of reach. No help there either. Like owner like cat, Alma snorted to herself.

She didn’t have long to stew in her thoughts as the cry of “Mama!” reached her and Kamila jumped up from her toy blocks to come over and climb onto her lap.

Alma relaxed. There was a mystery here, no doubt about that, but it could wait. Jowd seemed happy again. Her daughter chattered about her day at her. Their dearest friend would be here shortly. Today, mysteries could wait. Today, she would simply enjoy her birthday with her family.


End file.
